Ramayana – Impressions of Rama – the God or Human?

Whew! Read, Re-read and re-re-read Maya’s response to my questions and I can visualise the steam coming out of her ears and red eyes when she wrote this 😉 Before we end this marathon, I wanted to close my end of this discussion as well…

Her view points are awesome! Like I commented at her space, if Rama were alive today,he would give everything to have her as his defence lawyer anytime! 😀 And I also read all the comments that the others have written. So, am going to borrow a couple of sentences from those responses as well.

I would’nt want to go to the extent of comparing Krishna and Rama – of the fact the Krishna and most people around him already knew he was God incarnate while Rama didnt. I would end up in a total tangent arguement of “Can God alone be perfect or can God be excused for his misdeeds?” See, Im starting on that tangent now.So lets just get back to Ramayana.

Quoting some sentences from what she has written:

“Imagine a rule-book scion like Rama” – Agreed, he was a rule-book scion – a rule book written for the patriarchical society which only questioned the women – why nobody qu estioned if Rama had any relationship with anyone else in the forest while Sita was not there? – that question never gets asked – does it? Fine, accepting that it was that day and age and “Satya yuga” – I will even concede with the Agni-Pareeksha that he asked Sita to undergo. As per the book also, it states that though Rama was missing her, he made her go through the Agni-pareeksha just for the on-lookers to prove that his wife was “Pure”. Once done, then, he should not have backtracked on that promise of purity and banished her – THAT is my grouse. THIS is why being called the “Eka Patni Vrata” doesnt sound right to me.

“Rama-Rajya”, “He was the king – People were hungry to have him as a king” – Exactly, people were looking forward for Rama to return and rule. People looked upto this man who they felt was the epitome of all goodness and righteousness who had already put his wife to agni-pareeksha despite her being Sita- the daughter of the earth and had a standing of her own… He had then brought her home to be his queen. So, if this man, the KING, who did everything right, who could do no wrong, who always wanted to give the right judgements – decided and faced that 1 man who spoke against his wife and addressed the issue of Sita already having paid her dues through the ‘Agni-pareeksha’, for spending all those days in Ravana’s garden and told in his court that he trusted his wife, respected her for it was no fault of hers that she was abducted and that she would continue to be his wife-the Queen – would the citizens of his kingdom rebelled? Would it not have sowed the seeds of change, of respecting women start from there? I think that would have become a new rule, a new way of living a better life, people in the kingdom too would begin to respect the women in their life… Would that not have set new standards and make it a better “Rama Rajya”? #

I think it would- for all the things that have been written about Rama being the best King – did it all stem from the ONLY fact that he banished his wife for the sake of the kingdom? I dont think so-he must’ve been a great ruler, a leader, an inspiration to his people – so could he not have gauged that, appreciated that and used that to create a new rule of respecting women?

Here’s where I feel he failed – he just went by the book that was already written, when he knew, as a king, he had the capability to change it for the better and live by it. A rule, created by Rama himself would be as respected,if not more, as the rule-book by which he abided.

“Rama would have been the best husband, but not the best of kings. And, he, to save the Dharma and honour of his Raghu-kul, put his and Sita’s emotions behind and acted as a king.” – I think he could’ve been both – him being Rama and the best king and that people looked upto him to make the right judgements – he betrayed the one and only person in life whose life depended on him.

To summarise:
Rama might have been a great king, a wonderful ruler of the “Rama Rajya” but he failed as a husband and had failings like all human beings – Like Monkeymind has commented at Maya’s space:
“There is something to learn from everything and even the greatest or very good human being can teach how to be as well as how not to be!”

# I read this sentence,and I feel its too long, but breaking up the sentence into smaller sentences was’nt giving the same impact according to me-so please excuse the grammar and the length.

I have read Maya’s posts as well as yours. But somehow, I can’t agree with you more RS. Like you, my first brush with mythology started with “Palace of Illusions”. I have never read Ramayana yet, but have a scant knowledge via stories heard from elders. To be able to form a proper opinion, I decided read this epic. And ended up buying Asura: Tale of the anquished. This should rather be called Ravanayana as it is from the demons’ perspective. I have just started reading the book, will let you know once I finish it. Have you read it?

Once again, I applaud you for having said it so well. In my mind, NOTHING, NOTHING and NOTHING justifies Rama’s actions as a husband (and perhaps as a human being too). Perhaps he was a good king, but for that, he put too many other things at stake. Some of them may even have been unnecessary, like you siad. I do believe he could have achieved being both – a good king and a reasonable husband.

I always wondered about something whenever the argument arose saying Rama did whatever he did because he was a King first. Sita was his wife right? I assume she had got citizenship of Ayodhya once she became his wife.(I am not joking OK. I don’t know how else to put it!!!!) So, was she not the subject of the country? If so was not Rama her king also? If so by being true to one subject, was not Rama – the king wrong to another????

I didnot write this for idumbu. I ask this point seriously!

I think I am delurking. Have been following your blog since the blogathan. Hello!

Just discovered your blog and am enjoying the post. At the risk of sounding advertissy… This discussion prompted me to share the story I have written and posted on my blog on Seeta – called Seetayana – The Untold Journey. Would love to hear your thoughts about it. http://www.umasun1973.wordpress.com